Evol
"Evol" (エヴォル Evoru) is a series of three FIRE sub-archetypes: the Reptile "Evoltile", the Dinosaur "Evolsaur", and the Dragon "Evolzar". "Evoltile" monsters Special Summon "Evolsaur" monsters, which gain a variety of effects when Special Summoned in this way, and "Evolzar" monsters which are Xyz Summoned by using Dinosaur monsters as Xyz Materials. They are also supported by the "Evo-" series of cards. "Evol" is a toolbox series, similar to "Gladiator Beast", in that "Evol" monsters gain their effects when they are Special Summoned by other "Evol" monsters. Recommended cards Because an "Evol" Deck consists of three main archetypes and is a toolbox-type, it is good to use specific searchers in the Deck such as "Evo-Diversity" with the main "Evoltiles": ""Najasho", "Casinerio" and "Westlo". To a lesser extent, "Damage = Reptile" can make use of "Evoltiles" monsters "Pleuro", "Gephyro" or "Najasho" as needed. "Evoltile Odonto" is also a decent choice to use; use its effect to Special Summon "Evolsaurs" that are stuck in your hand such as "Vulcano" or "Elias". This can lead to a quick Xyz Summon, then "Odonto" can be used as Tribute for "Offering to the Snake Deity", "Evo-Force", "Evo-Branch" or "Evo-Instant". Using "Evoltile Lagosucho" is tricky, but can help set up future plays. You can either Normal Summon it and send an "Evolsaur" to the Graveyard, or Set it and flip it next turn to Special Summon an "Evoltile" from your Deck. The former allows any "Vulcano" and "Singularity" plays to be effective even early game, and the latter sets you up for "Evo-Force" or "Evo-Instant" plays with "Najasho". Using "Evolutionary Bridge" to Special Summon a "Pleuro" or a "Gephyro" from your Graveyard, then forcing your opponent to attack, can let you Summon the more powerful "Cerato", "Pelta", "Terias", "Elias" or "Darwino" from your hand or Graveyard. "Evoltiles" monsters "Westlo" and "Najasho", with their effects and high DEF help lead to swarming by field. If you Tribute "Najasho" with "Evo-Force" or "Evo-Instant", you can Special Summon two "Evolsaurs" from your Deck like "Vulcano" or "Elias" to bring more "Evolsaurs" to the field and Xyz Summon "Evolzar Laggia", "Evolzar Dolkka" or "Evolzar Solda". Adding a few copies of "Evolsaur Darwino" can bring your Levels of "Evolsaurs" and/or "Evoltiles" up/down to Level 5 so you can bring out "Number 19: Freezadon", which can let you use your effects of "Evolzars" at least 3 times each, as well as "Number 61: Volcasaurus" to take out monsters that your "Evolzars" can't. With both "Volcasaurus" and "Number 33: Chronomaly Machu Mech", as well as "Mini-Guts", which can be used to trigger the effect of "Najasho", the Deck is also capable of a surprising amount of Burn damage. "Volcasaurus" and "Machu Mech" can be Summoned easily by using "Westlo" to Summon "Darwino", and using the effect of "Darwino" to increase the Level of "Westlo" to 5. Alternatively, "Number 103: Ragnazero" can be used in place of "Machu Mech" to destroy the opponent's monster and draw additional cards. There are more builds, one of them being the "Solda" build. The main objective is Summoning "Elias" with "Evoltile Najasho", "Westlo", "Odonto" or "Caniserio". One of the most popular and successful builds is the "Evol Stun" build. Due to the nature of the "Evolzar" effects being able to negate your opponent's effects and Summons, "Evol Stun" focuses on using various defensive Spell and Trap Cards to supplement and protect the "Evolzars". Weaknesses Despite the motley benefits the "Evol" archetype can contribute for a Duelist, they have their snags that can be taken advantage of. For instance, due to their "Gladiator Beast"-esque toolbox assets, cards like "G.B. Hunter" and "Corridor of Agony" can punish "Evol" monsters Summoned from the Deck and/or interdict this stratagem. In addition, cards like "Narrow Pass", "Summon Limit" and any anti-Special Summoning support can deadlock "Evol" strategies and effects yielded via Summons and prevent many "Evol" monsters (especially the "Evolzar" Xyz Monsters) from taking roots onto the field. It's not just the Toolbox assets of this archetype that can be addressed. Most of the "Evoltile" monsters and some of the "Evolsaurs" have less than 1500 ATK, which can be fodder for "Deck Devastation Virus" and "King Tiger Wanghu". Cards like "Chain Destruction", "Chain Disappearance", "Nobleman of Crossout" and "Karma Cut" as well as Defense Position-destroying card effects can also spoil "Evol" gameplay as well as much needed reuse of their abilities. "Evo Singularity" is a useful way around this. Due to this archetypes' de facto FIRE motif, "Water Dragon" and "Umi" can be used to thwart "Evol" offenses. Trivia * The archetype name, "Evol", is derived from "Evol"ution, and appropriately enough, this archetype is supported by "Evo-" cards, a series of Spell and Trap Cards. * They are based on evolution from Reptiles to Dinosaurs to Dragons. This is referenced in some cards, such as "Ultra Evolution Pill". * All members have a tail with a visible DNA strand inside it, referencing their "evolving" nature. * If you see the background of "Evo-Branch" you can see an Alien, supporting the idea of the aliens were the ones who started the evolution in the planet. * All members have many things in the background of their pictures referencing evolution: ** There is a molecule in the background of all "Evoltiles" and "Evolsaurs". If it's in the background of the "Evolzar" monsters, it is most likely being obstructed by the monsters themselves. ** "Evoltiles" have what appears to be an ancient language in the background. "Evolsaurs" have a modern language using the Latin alphabet. "Evolzars" have binary in the background. ** On all "Evols", there is a depiction of the evolution of man in the bottom right corner of their picture.